Highly efficient soluble expression and purification of recombinant human basic fibroblast growth factor (hbFGF) by fusion with a new collagen-like protein (Scl2) in Escherichia coli

Abstract

Human basic fibroblast growth factor (hbFGF) is involved in a wide range of biological activities that affect the growth, differentiation, and migration. Due to its wound healing effects and therapy, hbFGF has the potential as therapeutic agent. Therefore, large-scale production of biologically active recombinant hbFGF with low cost is highly desirable. However, the complex structure of hbFGF hinders its high-level expression as the soluble and functional form. In the present study, an efficient, cost-effective, and scalable method for producing recombinant hbFGF was developed. The modified collagen-like protein (Scl2-M) from Streptococcus pyogenes was used as the fusion tag for producing recombinant hbFGF for the first time. After optimization, the expression level of Scl2-M-hbFGF reached approximately 0.85?g/L in the shake flask and 7.7?g/L in a high cell-density fermenter using glycerol as a carbon source. Then, the recombinant Scl2-M-hbFGF was readily purified using one-step acid precipitation and the purified Scl2-M-hbFGF was digested with enterokinase. The digested mixture was further subject to ion-exchange chromatography, and the final high-purity (96%) hbFGF product was prepared by freeze-drying. The recovery rate of the whole purification process attained 55.0%. In addition, the biological activity of recombinant hbFGF was confirmed by using L929 and BALB/c3T3 fibroblasts. Overall, this method has the potential for large scale production of recombinant hbFGF.     

Site-directed PEGylation of human basic fibroblast growth factor

Through site-directed mutagenesis, three cysteines of human basic fibroblast growth factor (hbFGF) were replaced with serine residues, resulting in a hbFGF mutant named hbFGFSer25,69,92. The mutant with only one cysteine residue at the 87th position, whose mitogenic activity was comparable to that of wild-type hbFGF, was further coupled to polyethylene glycol with a molecular size of 5 kDa (PEG5K) via the cysteine residue to obtain another hbFGF derivative, PEG5K-hbFGFSer25,69,92. The optimal modification reaction was conducted at 4 degrees C for 4 h at a molar ratio of PEG5K to hbFGFSer25,69,92 of 20:1. The result of SDS-PAGE showed that the modification extent was up to 80%. The modified product was purified by ion exchange chromatography. Compared to the hbFGF mutant, the purified PEG5K-hbFGFSer25,69,92 still retained about 60% of the mitogenic activity of the former, which provided a good basis for further studying the bioactivity of the PEGylated protein in vivo.     

一种促分裂活性降低的hbFGF突变体的表达及纯化(英文)

为了降低由人碱性成纤维细胞生长因子(hbFGF)的广谱促分裂活性引起的潜在副作用,用中性氨基酸丙氨酸取代了hbFGF第108位的丝氨酸,构建了促分裂活性降低的hbFGF突变体(mhbFGF)。IPTG诱导突变体在大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)中高效表达。mhbFGF的表达量约为全菌体蛋白的30％。通过离子交换和肝素亲和层析从菌体上清中纯化目标蛋白。MTT法检测促分裂活性表明,mhbFGF的促分裂活性显著低于野生型hbFGF。纯化的:mhbFGF可用于进一步的药效和安全性研究。     

Molecular characterization of recombinant human acidic fibroblast growth factor produced in E. coli: comparative studies with human basic fibroblast growth factor.

Synthetic cDNA coding for human acidic fibroblast growth factor (haFGF) was expressed in E. coli under the control of the T7 promoter. The haFGF produced was purified extensively using heparin-Sepharose and phenyl-Sepharose columns. The mitogenic activity of haFGF on 3T3 and endothelial cells was significantly potentiated in the presence of heparin (10-50 micrograms/ml), while angiogenic activity was observed on chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane without exogenously added heparin. This significant potentiation of mitogenic activity was observed specifically with haFGF, not human basic fibroblast growth factor (hbFGF). Circular dichroism spectra of haFGF was not affected by the presence of heparin. The affinity of haFGF for heparin was examined using heparin affinity HPLC and was precisely confirmed to be relatively lower than that of hbFGF. These results implied that haFGF was potentiated by heparin and that this potentiation did not involve a significant change in the conformation of the haFGF molecule. The affinity of haFGF for copper was also confirmed to be higher than that of hbFGF using a copper affinity HPLC column. In addition, under acidic conditions, haFGF appeared more stable than hbFGF and was further stabilized in the presence of heparin.     

Positive Effects of bFGF Modified Rat Amniotic Epithelial Cells Transplantation on Transected Rat Optic Nerve

PurposeEffective therapy for visual loss caused by optic nerve injury or diseases has not been achieved even though the optic nerve has the regeneration potential after injury. This study was designed to modify amniotic epithelial cells (AECs) with basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) gene, preliminarily investigating its effect on transected optic nerve.MethodsA human bFGF gene segment was delivered into rat AECs (AECs/hbFGF) by lentiviral vector, and the gene expression was examined by RT-PCR and ELISA. The AECs/hbFGF and untransfected rat AECs were transplanted into the transected site of the rat optic nerve. At 28 days post transplantation, the survival and migration of the transplanted cells was observed by tracking labeled cells; meanwhile retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) were observed and counted by employing biotin dextran amine (BDA) and Nissl staining. Furthermore, the expression of growth associated protein 43 (GAP-43) within the injury site was examined with immunohistochemical staining.ResultsThe AECs/hbFGF was proven to express bFGF gene and secrete bFGF peptide. Both AECs/hbFGF and AECs could survive and migrate after transplantation. RGCs counting implicated that RGCs numbers of the cell transplantation groups were significantly higher than that of the control group, and the AECs/hbFGF group was significantly higher than that of the AECs group. Moreover GAP-43 integral optical density value in the control group was significantly lower than that of the cell transplantation groups, and the value in the AECs/hbFGF group was significantly higher than that of the AECs group.ConclusionsAECs modified with bFGF could reduce RGCs loss and promote expression of GAP-43 in the rat optic nerve transected model, facilitating the process of neural restoration following injury.     

人碱性成纤维细胞生长因子突变体的高效表达

用PCR法将人碱性成纤维细胞生长因子(hbFGF)基因中编码第25、69和92位的半胱氨酸(Cys)密码子突变为丝氨酸(Ser)密码子,将突变的hbFGFcDNA片断与表达质粒pET3c连接,构建重组质粒pET3chbFGFSer25,69,92。hbFGFSer25,69,92在大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)中的表达量大于30%。通过阳离子交换和肝素亲和层析两步纯化,得到纯度大于95%的hbFGFSer25,69,92。MTT法测定纯化的产物活性表明,hbFGFSer25,69,92突变体促Balb/c细胞增殖的活性与野生型hbFGF相当,为下一步对hbFGFSer25,69,92突变体进行定点化学修饰打下了基础。     

动物细胞双顺反子高效稳定表达系统建立

建立稳定高效的动物细胞表达系统对于许多重组蛋白质药物的工业化生产有着十分重大的意义。用PCR扩增得到dhfr基因 ,克隆入载体pIRESneo3基因以替换原有的neo^r 基因 ,并将hbFGF作为报告基因插入其多克隆位点 ,得到重组子pIRESdhfr hbFGF ,转导CHO细胞后 ,MTX浓度梯度筛选稳定表达hbFGF的细胞株 ,ELISA与WesternBlot检测培养基中hbFGF的分泌表达。结果发现10、100、1000nmol LMTX组均检测到hbFGF的表达 ,其中表达量最高的一株细胞传代20次后表达量仍能维持较高的水平。因此利用双顺反子表达系统可以实现外源基因在动物细胞中的高效稳定表达 。     

原核表达hbFGF结构与功能优化的研究

野生型hbFGF蛋白可溶性与稳定性较低一直是困扰研发人员的难题。分析其氨基酸序列发现含有 4个游离巯基 ,其中第 78、96、1 0 1位半胱氨酸游离巯基可能直接影响其可溶性、稳定性及活性。对天然hbFGF进行定点突变 ,一组将Cys78、Cys96同时突变 ,另一组将Cys78、Cys96与Cys1 0 1进行联合突变 ,均改为丝氨酸密码子 ,然后克隆入原核表达载体pET 3c ,进行表达 ,结果发现两种突变蛋白的可溶性大幅度增加 ,稳定性明显上升 ,其中三点突变的效果更为显著 ,但蛋白质的活性明显下降。可以认为 78、96与 1 0 1位半胱氨酸的游离巯基同时参与了天然hbFGF多聚体的形成 ,是导致野生型hbFGF可溶性与稳定性较低的主要原因 ,Cys1 0 1还与维持hbFGF的活性直接有关     

使用一种新策略在大肠杆菌中高效表达hbFGF

翻译起始区（TIR）二级结构是影响翻译效率的决定性因素,同时密码子的偏好性问题也是个至关重要的方面。基于以上两点考虑,对hbFGF5‘末端35个碱基进行了改造,对其中4个位点进行了定点突变,另有4个位点进行了随机点突变。这些突变都可能造成TIR二级结构变化。这4个随机突变共有32种组合,使用RNA结构预测软件DNASIS v2.5对这32种序列分别模拟其二级结构且计算其自由能,并选取了10条自由能最高的序列。根据这10条序列,分别设计引物引入突变,克隆至表达载体pET-3c上,然后转化宿主菌E.coli,通过诱导表达纯化及生物测活等常规实验方法,最后确定有两株为高表达菌株,从某种程度上证明了用计算机辅助设计定点突变的方法来优化外源基因在E.coli中的表达是有效且很有潜力的。     

Authentic human basic fibroblast growth factor produced by secretion in Bacillus subtilis

Bacillus subtilis is generally accepted as an inborn host candidate employed for secretory production of heterologous proteins. However, this ideal host system has never been employed for commercial production of medically useful proteins. In this communication, we report for the first time the employment of an engineered B. subtilis system, in conjunction with a facile cell-wall destabilization protocol, to successfully obtain an alluring yield of 40 mg?l^?1 of secreted human basic fibroblast growth factor (hbFGF) in the culture supernatant. The product was not only shown to exhibit potent bioactivity but also revealed to possess a protein sequence identical to that of mature native hbFGF (Mat-hbFGF). Our findings may pave way for the development of a cost-effective process for producing Mat-hbFGF, which is currently sold at an unusually expensive price of over US $1 million?g^?1, for medical and skin care applications.     

Preliminary X-ray crystallographic analysis of a modified basic fibroblast growth factor

Human basic fibroblast growth factor (hbFGF) has been modified, with Ala3 and Ser5 substituted by glutamic acid, and the purified recombinant protein has been crystallized. The crystals are triclinic (space group P1) with unit cell parameters a = 31.0 A, b = 33.6 A, c = 34.7 A, alpha = 88 degrees, beta = 85 degrees, gamma = 76 degrees, and they diffract to at least 2 A.     

大肠杆菌可溶性表达人碱性成纤维细胞生长因子的研究

包涵体的形成与外源基因在大肠杆菌中的表达量高度相关,在适当的范围内,降低hbFGF在表达宿主BL21(DE3)plysS中的表达,成为实现高可溶性表达的关键。在不改变氨基酸序列的条件下,对hbFGF高表达菌株突变重组子起始密码ATG下游前3个密码子的摇摆碱基进行随机回复突变,共有7种组合,合成引物PCR扩增后,克隆至表达载体pET3c, 将重组子转导BL21(DE3)plysS后,IPTG诱导表达,发现其中1株有较高可溶性和活性的菌株。可见部分降低外源蛋白的表达量可以避免与减少包涵体的形成。     

人多潜能胚胎生殖细胞的分离和培养

多潜能胚胎性干细胞来源有两条途经,从植入前的早期胚胎内细胞团(inner cell mass,ICM)分离出来的称胚胎干细胞(embryonic stem cells,ES);从原始生殖细胞(primordial germ cells,PGCs)分离得到的称胚胎生殖细胞(embryonic germ cells,EG)。这两种干细胞在小鼠嵌合体实验中,都证明具有参与生殖系传递的能力。这类干细胞在体外保持     

人多潜能胚胎生殖细胞的分离和培养（简报）

To establish human pluripotent embryonic germ (EG) cell lines, human primordial germ cells (PGCs) of embryos aborted in 5-9 week were cultured on inactive mouse STO fibroblast feeder. The medium contained human leukemia inhibitory factor (hLIF), human basic fibroblast growth factor (hbFGF) and forskolin. The EG cells could be passaged continuously until 12 generations. Most cells were positive in alkaline phosphatase staining and expressed cell surface antigen SSEA-3 and pluripotent marker Oct-4. These EG cell populations that retained normal karyotype could form embryoid body in culture and differentiate further into neuron-like cells, mucous epithelial cells, epithelial cells and other types of the cells spontaneously. These results indicated the cell clones derived from human PGCs resemble pluripotent EG cells from mouse PGCs in appearance or nature.     

Differential expression of human basic fibroblast growth factor in Escherichia coli: potential role of promoter

Four different expression systems were developed for expression of the cDNA encoding human basic fibroblast growth factor (hbFGF), using Escherichia coli as host organism. The hbfgf structural gene was cloned into four expression vectors, pET-3a, pTrc99A, pPR37 and pKK223-3 differing only in their promoters, which were T7, trc, PR and tac respectively. Expression of the gene was induced by adding 0.5 mM (final concentration) of isopropyl--D-thio-galactopyranoside (IPTG) for the vectors carrying T7, trc and tac promoters or by a temperature shift from 30 to 42 °C for the vector carrying PR. The highest level of expression was observed in pET-1005 (a pET-3a derivative)/BL21 (DE3) system with 18.5 mg/l rhbFGF and the second high level expression was in pR37-1007 (pPR37 derivative) BL21 (DE3) system with 5 mg of rhbFGF/l. Since in the latter system a temperature shift was used for induction, 29% of the hbFGF was recovered as inclusion bodies in the insoluble cell fraction. The level of expression for the two other systems (pTrc-1006 and pKK-1008) was very low.     

重组人碱性成纤维细胞生长因子在大肠杆菌中的高效表达*

利用基因改造的方法可以优化外源基因在大肠杆菌中的表达。利用逆转录PCR技术从原代培养的人成纤维细胞中克隆出人碱性成纤维细胞生长因子基因,在不改变氨基酸序列的前提下对该基因的上游部分序列进行改造,并将其插入表达载体pET-3c,转入大肠杆菌阳BL21（DE3）,IPTG诱导表达,表达蛋白占菌体总蛋白的30％以上,并具有良好的生物活性。     

ε-N-Acetylation in the Production of Recombinant Human Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor Mutein

Abstract

During large scale preparation of recombinant human basic fibroblast growth factor(hbFGF) mutein CS23(CS23) produced in Escherichia coli (E. Coli), three species, named Mf-1, Mf-2 and Mf-3 in the order of their elution, were isolated from the early fraction of Sulfated Cellulofine chromatography by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on heparin-5pw. Structural analysis through HPLC peptide mapping, mass spectrometry, sequencing and amino acid composition revealed that ε-N-acetylation occurred at positions Lys135, Lys26 and Lys119 of CS23. Together with this observation, the results on large scale preparation of CS23 were also presented.     

Production of a recombinant human basic fibroblast growth factor with a collagen binding domain

Summary Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is a potent in vitro mitogen for capillary endothelial cells, stimulates angiogenesis in vivo, and may participate in tissue repair. Basic FGF is found in abundance in tissues such as brain, kidney, and cartilage. This study reports the expression, purification, and renaturation of a biologically active human basic fibroblast growth factor fusion protein (hbFGF-Fl) fromEscherichia coli. A prokaryotic expression vector was engineered to produce a tripartite fusion protein consisting of a purification tag, a protease-sensitive linker and collagen binding domain, and a cDNA sequence encoding the active fragment of hbFGF. The expressed hbFGF-F1 and hbFGF-F2 (it contains the collagen binding domain), located in inclusion bodies, were solubilized with 6 M guanidine-HCl and renatured by a glutathione redox system and protracted dialysis under various experimental conditions. The purification of the recombinant proteins was achieved by binding the His-tag of the fusion protein on a nickel-nitrilotriacetic acid metal chelate column. The biological activity of the recombinant growth factor was demonstrated by its ability to stimulate proliferation of human vein endothelial cells, monitored by [³H]thymidine incorporation, where commercial recombinant human bFGF (rhbFGF) served as a positive control. Purified rhbFGF-F1 and rhbFGF-F2 constructs exhibited proliferative activity comparable to commercial rhbFGF. The high-affinity binding was demonstrated by the binding of [³H]collagen to the rhbFGF-F2 protein immobilized on a Ni-nitrilotriacetic acid column. The rhbFGF-F2 fusion protein bound to collagen-coated surfaces with high affinity. Taken together, these results demonstrate that biologically active rhbFGF fusion proteins can be recovered from transformed bacteria by oxidative refolding; thus, providing a means for their high-yield production, purification, and renaturation from microorganisms. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the auxiliary collagen binding domain effectively targets the recombinant growth factor to type 1 collagen. These studies advance the technology necessary to generate large quantities of targeted bFGF fusion proteins for specific biomedical applications.     

Turnover of organic nitrogen in soils and its availability to crops

The root development of barley seedlings grown for one week in an aerated nutrient solution was studied in the presence of dissolved organic matter from an aqueous chestnut leaf litter extract. In particular, the different effects of low and high molecular weight fractions (small molecules: molecular weight <1000; large molecules: >10,000) of the leaf litter extract were examined. In the presence of large molecules root growth was inhibited, an irregular root tip morphology was observed, and Ca and Mg concentrations in the shoots were lower than in control plants. These phytotoxic effects were not caused by the formation of an impermeable layer of large molecules on the root surfaces that lower accessibility for nutrient cations as inferred from voltammetric experiments. A germination assay using spruce seeds, however, indicated allelochemical effects of large molecules, which exhibit a higher aromaticity than the small molecules as indicated by spectroscopic characterisation. In the growth experiments with small molecules, no influence on the root development of barley was evident, but an increase of Ca and Mg in the shoots was detected. During these growth experiments, a large amount of the small molecules, mainly simple phenols and amino acids, disappeared from the nutrient solution. The loss of small molecules was most likely the effect of mineralisation.Abbreviations DOC dissolved organic carbon - DOM dissolved organic matter - LLE leaf litter extract - MW molecular weight - HMDE hanging mercury drop electrode